Susan Kachaniwsky is a researcher in botany and plant ecology, currently expanding her Honours research into a Master’s degree at La Trobe University under the supervision of John Morgan and Susan Hoebee. Her work focuses on Ptilotus macrocephalus (Featherheads) within the fragmented grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plains, investigating factors influencing low seed set in the species. Her research incorporates field surveys, seed set quantification, pollinator identification, and recruitment studies, with an emphasis on understanding the effects of population size on reproductive success. To further explore these dynamics, Susan is planning germination trials and a glasshouse experiment comparing seedling growth across populations differing in size and density. She is particularly interested in the role of pollinators in seed production and is using quantitative approaches, such as the Gini coefficient and permutation indices, to assess recruitment patterns across populations. Susan’s research aims to contribute to the conservation and restoration of Ptilotus macrocephalus and other native grassland species by identifying key ecological constraints on their persistence.

I hold a Bachelor of Environmental Biology with First-Class Honours from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). I am currently a PhD student in Andy Leigh's plant physiology and ecophysiology lab at UTS, where I completed my research internship and Honours research. My PhD research focuses on the biological and environmental drivers of variation in the thermal tolerance of Australian native plants. This abstract presents part of the research that I am undertaking as a part of my PhD.

I am intrigued by the evolution of Australian ecosystems – the age of their component taxa and the dynamics they respond to – and how this can help us better understand how to manage them today and into the future. I am particularly interested in how grasslands and savannas developed, especially as most grass lineages were not present in Gondwanan times but migrated into the continent once it collided with the Asian tectonic plate. The combination of evolutionary and biogeographic history can reveal much about contemporary patterns.

Jessica is a PhD candidate at UNSW Sydney studying phenotypic plasticity as a key mechanism shaping plant strategies across variable environments, with a focus on competitive and defensive responses.

Tanya completed her Bachelor of Science at Deakin University. Tanya has over 30 years experience providing leadership in the planning, management and delivery throughout a variety of sectors (rail, road, water, power, wind etc). She has worked throughout Australia and the USA. Tanya has capabilities in the sustainability (ISCA), project design, safety, compliance and delivery within the environmental management and safety industry. She has a passion within the community and stakeholder engagement space having implemented and delivered an array of programs including habit hollows and nest box building/erection, propagation programs, timber salvage for men’s shed/wood turners etc. with many of these initiatives then feeding back into ISCA. Tanya and her team lead the way involving the installation and monitoring of fauna ladders, capture and translocation of fauna during vegetation clearing activities. Much of Tanya’s time is working at a higher level assisting clients with planning approvals, negotiating with clients, stakeholders and managing staff. In addition she has acted in a number of temporary rolls for clients at a management level.

I'm in the final stages of my PhD in plant ecology, studying urban and revegetated plant communities through the lens of functional traits. In addition, I am working in education, both in schools and Universities. I am helping teach the ecology and botany subjects in the Landscape Architecture program and have a particular interest in how restoration ecology can inform landscape architecture practice by improving the sustainability of our human landscapes and engaging the public in ecological thinking. I'm also working at a school to integrate more botany and ecology into the delivery of the NSW primary and secondary curriculum, and increasing student engagement with nature.